Meet Mark

Let me introduce myself. My name is Mark Sisson. I’m 63 years young. I live and work in Malibu, California. In a past life I was a professional marathoner and triathlete. Now my life goal is to help 100 million people get healthy. I started this blog in 2006 to empower people to take full responsibility for their own health and enjoyment of life by investigating, discussing, and critically rethinking everything we’ve assumed to be true about health and wellness...

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February 14 2017 - Every pregnant woman I've ever known has hated the oral glucose tolerance test. Yet, they still do it. Drinking a tall glass of sickly sweet orange-flavored glucose water on an empty stomach is thorou...

January 23 2008 - While caution is required in interpreting the longer-term benefits of surgery and weight loss, this study presents strong evidence to support the early consideration of surgically induced loss of weig...

February 07 2018 - If you think of Type 2 diabetes as carbohydrate intolerance, the natural dietary response should be to restrict the offending dietary component. And when this occurs—when diabetic patients restrict...

September 06 2018 - If you think of Type 2 diabetes as carbohydrate intolerance, the natural dietary response should be to restrict the offending dietary component. And when this occurs—when diabetic patients restrict...

August 26 2009 - I'm 56 years old and have been a type 2 diabetic since I was 32. When diagnosed, I went on the American Diabetic Association exchange diet, which is 50%+ carbohydrates. Believe it or not, the diet wor...

August 21 2009 - It?s Friday, everyone! And that means another Primal Blueprint Real Life Story from a Mark's Daily Apple reader. If you have your own success story and would like to share it with me and the Mark?s Da...

March 07 2008 - I'm not a doctor... and I don't play one on TV, but fer cryin' out loud, when will they learn? I just want to SCREAM sometimes. Seems bariatric surgery as a possible cure for type 2 diabetes was not e...

February 28 2011 - A new mice-with-an-engineered-human-genetic-deficiency study is out that promises to shed light on why humans are so darn diabetic and obese - and the cause is an evolutionary "mistake." A deficiency ...

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February 14 2017 - Every pregnant woman I've ever known has hated the oral glucose tolerance test. Yet, they still do it. Drinking a tall glass of sickly sweet orange-flavored glucose water on an empty stomach is thorou...

February 07 2018 - If you think of Type 2 diabetes as carbohydrate intolerance, the natural dietary response should be to restrict the offending dietary component. And when this occurs—when diabetic patients restrict...

March 07 2008 - I'm not a doctor... and I don't play one on TV, but fer cryin' out loud, when will they learn? I just want to SCREAM sometimes. Seems bariatric surgery as a possible cure for type 2 diabetes was not e...

February 28 2011 - A new mice-with-an-engineered-human-genetic-deficiency study is out that promises to shed light on why humans are so darn diabetic and obese - and the cause is an evolutionary "mistake." A deficiency ...

October 25 2012 - You hear a lot about type 2 diabetes on this and other sites in the community. It's easy to see why: type 2 diabetes is the "lifestyle" diabetes, the preventable one, the one that "doesn't have to hap...

July 09 2007 - Forget insulin injections - the humble pumpkin may be a suitable treatment for both type 1 and type 2 diabetics in the near future.
Researchers found that plain old pumpkin extract helped worn-out pa...

November 18 2013 - For today's edition of Dear Mark, we've got a question about dietary acid load and type 2 diabetes. A new study's just come out suggesting that the acid load of the diet does indeed have a significant...

February 13 2008 - Chalk yet another one up for low-carb, high protein diets: A study in the current issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition finds that a vegetable-based, low-carbohydrate diet can reduce the...

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July 20 2015 - For today's edition of Dear Mark, I'm answering four questions. First, does the diabetes drug metformin have life-extending potential for non-diabetics? Then, the final three questions come from the c...

March 23 2017 - Autoimmune diseases really throw the body for a loop. You're attacking your own tissues. Your inflammation is sky high. What's usually good for you—like boosting the immune system—can make it wors...

January 12 2007 - Apples, as you know, this is a pro-fat health site - pro-fat meaning we recommend eating beneficial fats, of course, not getting fat. There are a lot of issues to consider when it comes to fat - heart...

July 07 2015 - Last week, I countered claims that "paleo gots no science" with summaries of five recent (and not so recent) papers supporting the paleo/Primal approach to diet. The reception to that post was strong...

June 06 2017 - Today's guest post is served by a good friend of Mark's Daily Apple, Dr. Sarah Ballantyne, PhD, or as you might know her—The Paleo Mom.
Regulating blood sugar levels is a key feature of any he...

February 10 2014 - For today's edition of Dear Mark, I cover four questions and my wife Carrie covers one. First, I discuss the effects of sprinting on blood sugar in the short term and long term. Next is whether or not...

December 12 2018 - The scientific literature is awash in correlations between a person's health status and various biomarkers, personal characteristics, and measurements. As we hoard more and more data and develop incre...

August 17 2017 - There are some who hold the view that at birth, each of us is allotted a finite supply of energy which exercise depletes, thus hastening our demise. An intense regimen like CrossFit, in this paradigm...

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March 02 2007 - Worker Bees' Daily Bites
9 out of 10 taste-testers agree: Today's wrap contains 100% more flavor than the leading competitor.
What a Headache
The FDA swipes 15 migraine medications off the sh...

December 29 2006 - As mentioned yesterday, the national health report card has just been released by the NIH. My fellow Americans, we did not make the honor roll. We are not number one. (Though there's a roll, all right...

March 28 2008 - A study published online in this month’s Neurology suggests that people whose waistline expands once they hit age 40 are more likely to develop dementia in their 70s than their slimmer peers.
For...

October 26 2015 - For today's edition of Dear Mark, I'm answering three questions. The first one concerns blackstrap molasses, a type of sugar I've suggested people eat for its rich mineral content. Does the value of ...

March 03 2014 - For today's edition of Dear Mark, I'm discussing the seemingly evil qualities of palmitic acid, the preferred storage form of body fat in humans and many other mammals. Studies seem to indicate that p...

January 29 2007 - I'm pretty shocked by what people are willing to trade to be thin. Limbs? Eyesight? Marriage? Lifespan? Children?
I'm shocked, because avoiding obesity really doesn't have to be so dramatic.
Yes...

April 26 2017 - I've written about extending your life by slowing down the apparent passage of time. I've written about some interesting predictors—but not necessarily causes—of longevity, and the common characte...

July 11 2007 - Bibliona Flickr Photo (CC)
There are more diets than donuts, and the truth is that most of them will work in the short-term. But the reason few diets work long-term is because they are rarely sustain...

February 28 2008 - Last week we heard from reader, primalman08, in response to the Top 10 Reasons to Stay Healthy post:
I would like to encourage you to do more on the sexual benefits of living well. In my practice, ...

September 12 2013 - A whole lot of people come to the Primal Blueprint looking to lose weight. Some come with significant excess weight. Their before and after photos showcase amazing physical transformations that can ha...

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October 25 2012 - You hear a lot about type 2 diabetes on this and other sites in the community. It's easy to see why: type 2 diabetes is the "lifestyle" diabetes, the preventable one, the one that "doesn't have to hap...

January 17 2011 - Diabetes is that rare brand of nasty disease that fails to strike real, visceral fear. It doesn't carry the weight of a cancer or an AIDS or a heart disease. It's something you get, like a gut, a long...

March 29 2012 - A couple weeks back, the LA Times published a piece on a geneticist's experience with "personalized medicine." Based on careful and constant monitoring of his sequenced DNA and around 40,000 health ma...

May 03 2017 - I'm of two minds when it comes to blood testing. For myself, I'm not a huge fan of obsessive, frequent testing and optimization. I have a good idea about how to optimize my health through the actions ...

April 29 2008 - A report out this week offered some of the latest news on children’s health in the United States. Researchers from Duke University and the Foundation for Child Development studied trends in the heal...

July 08 2008 - Driving my daughter Devyn to the airport yesterday morning at 5:30 (she's off to a summer-school program in Florence) I was stunned by what I was hearing on my radio. Apparently, the American Academy ...

October 21 2013 - For today's edition of Dear Mark, we've got a three question roundup. First, I hear from a nursing, weight-lifting, child-chasing mother of four who's concerned about the amount of food she's craving ...

April 13 2017 - Sure, they’re not exactly the sexiest body part, but it’s fair to say that life with substandard ear health would be notably less enjoyable. And as it happens, millions of Americans would be able ...

July 07 2015 - Last week, I countered claims that "paleo gots no science" with summaries of five recent (and not so recent) papers supporting the paleo/Primal approach to diet. The reception to that post was strong...

July 10 2014 - It’s a common refrain that living healthily costs an arm and a leg. The food bills, in particular, garner the biggest sighs and frustration: the price of pastured meats, eggs (and dairy for those wh...

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November 11 2017 - Taco salad made from seared steak, avocado, tomato, shredded lettuce, and creamy chipotle dressing is delicious without any embellishment. But if you happen to have cheddar cheese in the refrigerator ...

February 07 2015 - This is a recipe from Primal Blueprint Publishing's popular cookbook Primal Cravings: Your Favorite Foods Made Paleo. The 125 recipes in Primal Cravings are all are low-sugar, grain-free, gluten-free...

April 11 2009 - Last week we discussed the merits of canning your own foods. So you canned a bunch of tomatoes and now you need a good reason to use ‘em! Enter the following unstuffed cabbage recipe:
Ingredients...

January 04 2014 - For breakfast or dinner, a meatball tagine hits the spot. Warmly spiced tomato sauce and meatballs are simmered together then topped with runny baked eggs that give the dish a creamy texture. Deeply f...

July 25 2009 - As an MDA Worker Bee always on the lookout for new Primal dishes I've developed a few tricks. My favorite method is by scanning different restaurant menus and then finding substitutes for highly-proce...

July 20 2013 - Ginger and lemongrass meatballs are so moist and uber flavorful that they don’t need any sauce. This blend of lamb and pork boldly seasoned with ginger, lemongrass, garlic, basil and cilantro will k...

October 02 2010 - The Primal chef responsible for this delicious recipe is the winner of the Primal Iron Chef Contest. With over 120 amazing coconut recipe submissions the competition was fierce. Honestly, just about a...

April 22 2009 - Last week, I got this email from a reader:
I work 12 hour ER shifts. Our cafeteria is too expensive and the food is horrendous anyway (where do you think hospital food gets that reputation?) My...

August 26 2009 - I'm 56 years old and have been a type 2 diabetic since I was 32. When diagnosed, I went on the American Diabetic Association exchange diet, which is 50%+ carbohydrates. Believe it or not, the diet wor...

August 21 2009 - It?s Friday, everyone! And that means another Primal Blueprint Real Life Story from a Mark's Daily Apple reader. If you have your own success story and would like to share it with me and the Mark?s Da...

October 26 2012 - It’s Friday, everyone! And that means another Primal Blueprint Real Life Story from a Mark's Daily Apple reader. If you have your own success story and would like to share it with me and the Mark’...

November 28 2014 - It’s Friday, everyone! And that means another Primal Blueprint Real Life Story from a Mark's Daily Apple reader. If you have your own success story and would like to share it with me and the Mark’...

June 20 2009 - Thanks to active forum member and fellow Primal Blueprinter, DiabetesCanKissMyButt. Let it be an inspiration to anyone who is living a similar story.
Follow DiabetesCanKissMyButt as she journals he...

August 27 2009 - Mark, I just got back from my endocrinology appointment when I saw the latest contest.
I'm no picture of health yet but things are looking a heck of a lot better than they did before I started on P...

June 09 2017 - It’s Friday, everyone! And that means another Primal Blueprint Real Life Story from a Mark's Daily Apple reader. If you have your own success story and would like to share it with me and the Mark’...

May 05 2017 - It’s Friday, everyone! And that means another Primal Blueprint Real Life Story from a Mark's Daily Apple reader. If you have your own success story and would like to share it with me and the Mark’...

January 13 2017 - It’s Friday, everyone! And that means another Primal Blueprint Real Life Story from a Mark's Daily Apple reader. If you have your own success story and would like to share it with me and the Mark’...

August 17 2018 - It's Friday, everyone! And that means another Primal Blueprint Real Life Story from a Mark's Daily Apple reader. If you have your own success story and would like to share it with me and the Mark's Da...

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January 23 2008 - While caution is required in interpreting the longer-term benefits of surgery and weight loss, this study presents strong evidence to support the early consideration of surgically induced loss of weig...

February 28 2011 - A new mice-with-an-engineered-human-genetic-deficiency study is out that promises to shed light on why humans are so darn diabetic and obese - and the cause is an evolutionary "mistake." A deficiency ...

February 13 2008 - Chalk yet another one up for low-carb, high protein diets: A study in the current issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition finds that a vegetable-based, low-carbohydrate diet can reduce the...

June 27 2007 - BITE ME, ADA
We all know by now that type 2 diabetes is an epidemic. We’re seeing words like crisis and runaway all over the news and in the journals. Heart disease rates have been cut in half si...

June 13 2018 - Both fasting and carb-restriction appear to operate along similar physiological pathways. Both lower carbs. Both increase fat-adaptation. Both have the potential to get you into ketosis. Both lower in...

December 09 2015 - A couple weeks ago, I linked to an article discussing the "obesity paradox"—the idea that across many different studies and populations, people with slightly overweight and even obese BMIs often ...

September 14 2010 - Most folks who decide to give the Primal Blueprint 30-Day Challenge the old college try do so to correct an underlying health issue. Maybe their cardiologist’s recommended dietary plan hasn’t been...

July 01 2015 - People constantly demand proof for the efficacy of the Primal eating plan. And I'm glad they do. The Primal Blueprint makes sense on an intuitive level, and those success stories we see every Friday ...

June 26 2008 - Reader Pete asked for some thoughts on the “Insulin Index,” a measurement chart similar to the glycemic index. While the glycemic index calculates the relative blood sugar rise induced by given fo...